A systems focused approach to Modern Asset Management 

Asset Management is the coordinated activity of an organisation to realise value from assets, present and future. In this circumstance, SYSTRA sees value as a combination of financial, performance, societal, and other organisational goals. 

Effective Asset Management for infrastructure is challenging. From bridges, roads and tunnels to the systems and sub-systems that form the backbone of our cities, there are millions of assets all requiring tailored and strategic planning to ensure they achieve maximum value. In some cases, asset management may even need to account for secondary purposes. For example, the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s asset management strategy needs to address its role as an Australian icon as well its vital role in the transport network.  

Within this dynamic is an equally complex network of stakeholders. From owners, to operators, to the community and more, each stakeholder may perceive value in their own way, creating further challenges for Asset Managers to balance and overcome.  

Could you imagine rebuilding our most iconic structures?  

Picture Sydney Harbour. Now picture a scene where we have to rebuild the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The cost, the image, the time, the flow on effect to the tourism industry and more. The implications would be enormous.  

An effective asset management strategy helps prolong the lifetime value of an asset to ideally avoid this scenario altogether, or at worst minimise the impact of it so that operations remain as seamless as possible.  

While some assets like the Harbour Bridge are meticulously managed, others can be neglected. Trying to manage the millions of assets that comprise a city as meticulously as the Harbour Bridge is not possible. Over-servicing costs quickly compound over time, and that diverts investment away from other opportunities. Eventually a neglected asset approaches its end-of-life far quicker than was intended, meaning it needs to be replaced, decommissioned, or repurposed. The result is likely to be far more expensive than if the asset had been maintained to an appropriate level in the first place. 

Effective Asset Management means coordinating a balanced approach to realise value, achieve goals, and optimise the asset’s life. In today’s landscape where cost and sustainability must be managed with precision, we cannot simply replace roads, tunnels, and bridges if their full value potential – which is inclusive of their future roles – remain largely untapped or overlooked.  

Bringing People, Process and Systems Together 

Effective Asset Management has strong parallels with systems engineering. Systems engineering brings People, Process and of course Systems together to create resilient, integrated and efficient assets that fulfil an intended purpose.  

In this context: 

• People refers to the vast stakeholder network throughout the lifecycle of the asset such as the owners, operators and the community.  It also includes the human element of the asset i.e. has it been designed with the end user in mind.

• Processes are the ways in which activities are actioned. This includes everything from site inductions all the way through to compliance with the Asset Management Standard ISO55000 which is the framework for organisations to strategically govern assets over their lifecycles.  

• Systems refers to the different technologies, hardware, software, systems, and sub-systems that combine to build and manage any given asset. 

Embedding an effective Asset Management strategy is about aligning People, Process and Systems towards the desired goals. This must overcome the challenge associated with nuanced and at times polarizing and misaligned views of what defines value. “What does success look like?” is such a simple question yet these answers need to be synthesised into a coherent and acceptable compromise across People, Process and Systems.  

When Asset Management is integrated correctly and traceable to an end-goal, we can start designing and running assets at their most efficient and effective point. This draws maximum value and helps achieve its designed purpose for the planned lifecycle. This is often called ‘sweating the asset.’ And instead of creating individual strategies for each type of asset and its subsystems, we coordinate a holistic approach founded on sound systems engineering practice. This streamlines management to the right size while reducing complexity and celebrating value when it’s deserved. 

Modern Asset Management Outcomes 

An outcome of embedding the right People, Processes and Systems into the way we manage an asset is what we call Modern Asset Management. This is where each pillar works in collaboration with one another to drive maximum value. Modern Asset Management shifts the way of working away from a reactive, corrective service offering to a proactive, preventive, and predictive service driven by accurate data analytics.  

As each pillar works more in sync then we can embrace other possibilities, particularly those that come from the onset of new technologies like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). These scenarios help to inform decision making, as in-use data becomes available and theoretical factory data is left behind. 

Modern Asset Management will change the role of People, creating with it a shift in skills, relationships, and mobility. Yet, the human retains a critical role in applying professional acumen and mastery in this scheme. Local processes will need to be adaptable, networked and constantly assessed while systems, particularly new technologies that can further optimise, can and should be integrated. By embracing Modern Asset Management, then we can integrate improved solutions such Predictive Maintenance that drive even greater benefits. This demonstrates the power of AI, where data can pinpoint inefficiencies in real-time, removing incredible amounts of resource wastage to achieve greater value and prolong the life of an asset. 

A systems focused approach to Modern Asset Management

Getting to a point where Modern Asset Management has become the norm will require deep technical expertise as well as an innate understanding of the asset and its sub-systems. It will require a considered, collaborative approach across the stakeholder network to define value, balance objectives, and agree the concept design, along with the associated assumptions and challenges. A holistic, systems-focused approach can coordinate this from the start of an asset’s life and thereafter.  

Without laying the form work of systems engineering to enable modern asset management; the in-service asset risks being in a constant state of flux and unhealthily reactive. A whole-of-life system-of-systems mindset manages this risk proactively. And while the chances of having to rebuild the Harbour Bridge in the short-medium term are remote, for other structures, disregarding a systems-based approach is a real issue that degrades the ability to achieve economic and sustainable outcomes. 

If embedding Modern Asset Management is good for the asset, then it is very much good for business, people and broader society. 

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